The World Health Organization’s Executive Board whittled its list of candidates running to be its new director-general down to five, with Ethiopian candidate Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in the lead.
Executive Board Chairman Ray Busuttil announced the shortlist Tuesday morning, following a closed-door session. Apart from Tedros, the list included Britain’s David Nabarro, France’s Philippe Douste-Blazy, Italy’s Flavia Bustreo and Pakistan’s Sania Nishtar.
There’s little surprise in global health circles that Miklos Szócska, Hungary’s candidate, didn’t make it through to the next round of the contest. Several global health experts who are following the elections told Devex that they regarded the former health minister as having a thin portfolio when it came to international experience and believed he would likely be the first one to exit the race — although this is not the only factor that likely played a hand in the result.
About the author
Jenny Lei Ravelo@JennyLeiRavelo
Jenny Lei Ravelo is a Devex Senior Reporter based in Manila. She covers global health, with a particular focus on the World Health Organization, and other development and humanitarian aid trends in Asia Pacific. Prior to Devex, she wrote for ABS-CBN, one of the largest broadcasting networks in the Philippines, and was a copy editor for various international scientific journals. She received her journalism degree from the University of Santo Tomas.
